


The Star Chasers:First Flight

by MrToddWilkins



Series: CB Secrets - tales of the astronaut corps after the Moon landings [2]
Category: Space Explorers RPF, Sweet Valley High - Francine Pascal, The Cape (TV 1996), The Sky’s No Limit (1984)
Genre: Cat Ears, Cat Girl, Competition, F/M, Friendly Rivalry, NASA, Novelization, Walt Disney Lived, Workplace, Workplace Relationship, office politics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:14:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24481129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrToddWilkins/pseuds/MrToddWilkins
Summary: Concerning the first American manned space flight to feature women:STS-8, with Joanna Douglas and Kerry Glenn
Series: CB Secrets - tales of the astronaut corps after the Moon landings [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2146038





	1. Epigraph

Across the gulf of centuries the blind smile of Homer is turned upon our age. Along the echoing corridors of time, the roar of the rockets merges now with the creak of wind-taut rigging. For somewhere in the world today, still unconscious of his destiny, walks the boy who will be the first Odysseus of the Age of Space.

\- Arthur C.Clarke


	2. A NASA press release,announcing the selection of the first all-female astronaut group

NASA News

Tim O’Brien

321/836-3928

April 19,1982

  
NASA SELECTS FIRST ALL-FEMALE ASTRONAUT GROUP

On March 10,NASA selected its first astronaut group to consist entirely of women. This comes in advance of the first Space Shuttle mission to feature a woman crew member,which will fly at the end of this coming year.  
  


The selectees are:

Bianca Baker,24,of Portsmouth,Virginia,a biologist  
Rowan Blanchard,25,of San Francisco,California,a pilot  
Roxanne Bojarski,33,of Danbury,Connecticut,a nurse  
Samantha Boyea,27,of Newton,Massachusetts,a physical education technician  
Lavender Brown,28,of Monterey,California,formerly employed here at JSC   
Ariana Butera,25,of Boca Raton,Florida,a teacher  
Isabella Carey,26,of Fort Wayne,Indiana,a researcher  
Allison Creemore,24,of Oakville,Huronia,a physical educator  
Alexis Curley,23,of Burlington,Vermont,a nursing student  
Jill Curtis,28,of Schaumburg,Illinois,a nurse  
Linnea D’Acchille,25,of White Plains,New York,an athlete  
Brooke Dennis,26,of Port Hueneme,California,a nursing student  
Robin Donato,25,of Glen Allen,Virginia,an internist  
Marietta Edgecombe,26,of Green Bay,Wisconsin,a research technician  
Alice Ferris,26,of Leominster,Massachusetts,an artist  
Kerry Glenn,26,of Sweet Valley,California,employed in physical education  
Erin Hayes,23,of Saratoga Springs,New York,an arts student  
Molly Hecht,24,of Ventura,California,an employee of NASA  
Holly Hills,25,of Westmore,Ohio,a journalist  
Casey Hunter,24,of Wellington,Huronia,a physiologist  
Susan Lannigan,28,of Fort Worth,Texas,a medical supply technician  
Melinda Light,24,of Albany,New York,a nursing student  
Bethany Long,26,of Rockville,Maryland,a nurse  
Tricia Martin,23,of Sweet Valley,California,a chemistry student  
Natalie McDonald,25,of Carbondale,Colorado,a pilot  
Kali McFarland,28,of Norfolk,Virginia,a research technician employed by LaRC  
Andrea Miller,29,of Port Hueneme,California,a public affairs specialist  
Pamela O'Neill,28,of Albany,Georgia,a nurse  
Ellen Ochoa,26,of Long Beach,California,a chemist  
Grace Oliver,24,of Modesto,California,a marine biologist  
Elizabeth Patterson,25,of Milborough,Huronia,a teacher  
Johanna Porter,27,of Sweet Valley,California,a nurse  
April Richards,22,of Trois-Rivieres,Quebec,a veterinary student  
Sophie Roper,26,of Jefferson City,Missouri,employed by JPL  
Lila Smith,24,of Scranton, Pennsylvania, a nurse  
Delores Swensen,32,of Lake Eden,Minnesota,employed by KSC  
Amy Sutton,26,of Paso Robles,California,a journalist  
Kaley Tucker,23,of Bennington,Vermont,a nursing student  
Anna Watkins,25,of Canandaigua,New York,a medical technician

They are in astronaut candidate training until next spring and probably will not be considered for missions prior to 1985.

The current candidates for the first female Shuttle astronaut are five ‘primaries’ and one ‘backup’.

The primaries are:

Susan Browning,31,of Cincinnati,Ohio,a doctor  
Joanna Douglas,29,of Tulsa,Oklahoma,a pilot  
Maureen Harris,30,of Santa Monica,California,a physicist  
Rhea Seddon,34,of Murfreesboro,Tennessee,a physician  
Annie Whitman,25,of Palisades,California,a researcher

The backup is:

Meredith Clynes,28,of Troy,New York,a psychologist

All of them have been provisionally assigned to future Shuttle missions spanning the 1983-1986 time period


	3. The JSC press briefing, April 20

Broadcast on NASA Select Television 

Building 30, Johnson Space Center, Teague Auditorium

Participants

Jim Turpin, Director,Flight Crew Operations Division

Ron Evans, Chief of the Astronaut Office

Jack Lousma, Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office (acting)

Sandra Bacon, of the Astronaut Office

Owen Patterson, Deputy Chief of the Space Shuttle Program Office

Arthur Bennett, Head of the Committee of Crew Selection

Robert Fowler, Chief of the Crew Procedures Division

Jacob Lutz, Chief of the Flight Directors’ Office (actingj

Charles Howard, acting Director of the Personnel Office

Al Oliver, Chief of the Mission Planning and Analysis Division

Michael Brandow,of the Public Affairs Office

Brandow: Good morning and welcome to the briefing on future Space Shuttle crews and missions for the 1982 to 1985 period. I’m Michael Brandow. (he introduces those named above,excepting himself). We understand some of you have deadlines,so we’ll get this started.

Turpin:Thank you,Mike. The Space Shuttle orbital flight test program is now complete,as all of you know. After Columbia’s successful landing at Edwards Air Force Base on March 7,President McCarthy declared the Space Shuttle operational and available for all kinds of launches. These launches include national security missions,Earth and space sciences missions including the Spacelab joint program with ESA,life sciences missions,satellite deployments for all sorts of customers,possible international missions (including with ESA,Japan,Canada,and potentially the Soviet space agency),and potentially even the building of a new space station to build off the lessons learned on Skylab (catches breath).

That’s a lot of missions coming up,and for that we have the following groups of astronauts. Keep in mind that the astronaut corps currently numbers 78,including 13 women,and will number 132 with 46 women when the next groups complete their training:

  * The remaining members of the 1966 and 1967 astronaut selections. This includes both the current chief astronaut,Ron Evans,and his deputy,Jack Lousma,who are sitting next to me.
  * The two MOL transfer groups,selected in 1969 and 1970 respectively,all of whom are still active excepting Robert Herres
  * The 1974 group,all of whom are still active at this time.
  * The 1978 group,which includes the first women astronauts.
  * And the most recent selection group in 1980.



As you all know,both an all-women group and a regular group are being selected this year. The former were announced a week ago,the latter will be announced next month.......Yes?  
  
Reporter:Philip O’Connor,Wilmington Star-News. I know you’ve got many missions planned,but why so many astronauts when all’s said and done? Will a smaller group be recruited in ‘84?

Turpin:It never hurts to have a sizable group for our missions. As you know from my last big briefing,prior to Shuttle mission 2,we eventually plan on a six orbiter fleet plus a permanent space station capable of housing 6 to 10 crew. That’s not counting a potential return to the Moon,likely in the early years of the next century.

The plan from here on out is biennial selections,one selection in every even-numbered year. We hope to recruit around 40 people in 1984 and a somewhat smaller number in 1986.

Brandow:And I’d like to inject a reminder to _please_ refrain from stating your name and affiliation until the microphone is with you. Answering out of turn was tolerable when it first happened,but by STS-3 or so we were sick of it. Next question?

Reporter:Jay Barbree,NBC,for Mr Oliver. What are the missions leading up to the second flight of Challenger,and the rest of the 1983 manifest?

Oliver: These missions are:

  * The first operational mission of the Shuttle. This mission,in June,will deploy the SBS-3 and Insat 1A commercial satellites.
  * Challenger’s first mission,in September. This mission sees the deployment of TDRS-A and the first Shuttle-based spacewalk.
  * Another Columbia mission,at the end of the year. This mission sees the deployment of two more communications satellites,both payloads of opportunity.
  * The mission you’re all hoping for,in mid-March. On this mission,we will have what is essentially a repeat of STS-2 and -3,but with the operational Shuttle.
  * Another Challenger mission in May. This mission features deployment of the Insat 1B communications satellite and our first payload specialist,Dr Rakesh Sharma.
  * A Columbia mission in June. The first Spacelab mission,with two payload specialists.
  * A Challenger mission in late summer. Two more satellite deployments plus an EVA to rehearse the Solar Max repair.
  * The introduction of Enterprise to the orbiter fleet,in October. A satellite deployment plus the Space Construction Experiment with two EVAs.
  * Another Columbia mission,which will have the LDEF deployment and Solar Max repair mission. This will be in autumn.
  * And if we can fit it in,the first Discovery launch,with the Westar 6 launch and a national security payload.



Brandow:Next question?

Reporter:Paul Marin,Los Angeles Times,for any of you,I guess. When do you think is the earliest a second space station could launch?  
  
Patterson:A temporary space station like Skylab or a permanent space station?

Marin:Either.

Pattereon:We could launch a temporary space station as soon as this coming winter utilizing the Shuttle external tank as a station. An astronaut crew could drain the tank of its hydrogen and move inside to convert it for human habitation. That was the original plan for Skylab,actually.

With a permanent station, I believe that’s for around 1990 or so,with the station being occupied through the 2000s. President McCarthy hasn’t made any announcement on that sort of thing yet,but we do expect one after the midterms in November. Does that answer your question?

Marin:Yes,sir.

Brandow:Next question?.....Ms.Arnold?

Reporter:Carolyn Arnold with the Stoneybrook Herald. Mr Turpin,how advanced is the processing for the next mission?

Turpin:The solid rocket boosters and external tank have been mated,and Columbia was rolled over to the VAB last night. It will be attached to the SRBs and tank on Friday morning,with rollout occurring 10 days after that.

Brandow:Next question?

Reporter: Mia Wallace,with the County Star. Of the astronaut candidates and astronauts who are women,who will be on the March mission?

Turpin:Of STS-8?

Wallace:Yes.

Turpin:In training for this mission are Dr Susan Browning,Joanna Douglas,Dr Maureen Harris,Dr Rhea Seddon,and Annie Whitman. One of them will be selected for this mission,and soon after the others will be selected for their own missions. But it may become a crew of six. In which case two women could go up. That’d be quite the PR coup.

Brandow:Next question?

Reporter:Michael Patterson,Toronto Star,for Mr Fowler. How safe,at this point,do you think the Shuttle is?

Fowler:We’ve flown four missions with it. Four pre-launch processing cycles,four launch cycles,four on-orbit cycles,and four landing cycles. We feel we now know at least the basics of how the Shuttle handles. On the last mission,as you’ll recall,we subjected it to all kinds of thermal conditions. We know now how the Shuttle holds up in the space environment,and we’re ready to send it up on more advanced missions.

Brandow:Next question?

Reporter: Reginald Turnill,with the BBC,for Mr Oliver. What’s the mission you’re most looking forward to?

Oliver:Can I be perfectly honest here?

Turnill:Yes.

Santelli:STS-12. The Space Construction Experiment has been a pet project of mine from the beginning.

Brandow:That’s all the time we have. Thanks for attending. We’ll see you in two weeks from tomorrow for the STS-5 crew status briefing.


	4. A meeting of the minds

_April 22,1982_

In a dark room just off the auditorium where the press conference had been held two days earlier sat the men and woman who had participated in that conference. 

Jim Turpin was a wise,middle-aged,put-upon PAO who had been the 'voice of NASA' since the later days of Project Apollo's J-class missions,which had seen men do science on the Moon like never before. He had often lamented to himself and to the public that just 3 or 4 more of those missions might have secured funding for the logical next step:a temporary Moon base and maybe a Skylab-derived lunar orbital space station. Turpin,46,was seen by many as the next Jack King or Terry White:indeed,he had learned his trade from both men.

Ron Evans,49,Chief of the Astronaut Office,who had been the Command Module Pilot on Apollo 17 and commander of Apollo-Salyut,after serving as backup commander on Apollo-Soyuz. Evans had held his present position since early 1979 when John Young had been assigned to command STS-1. He had retired from the Navy as a commodore in 1976 and held his present office as a civilian.

Also holding his position since early 1979 was Jack Lousma,47,who had been Al Bean's pilot on Skylab 3 and had gone on to command the second Shuttle mission (during which Story Musgrave assumed his duties). Lousma was a suave,square-jawed Marine major who was fond of restoring old hobby aircraft and drinking fine wines. It was an open secret among the astronauts that he hoped to succeed Evans whenever he retired. For now,he was tentatively assigned to command the STS-10 mission, the first planned flight of the Spacelab orbital laboratory, in a year's time.

As a stark contrast to these two sat Sandra Bacon,29,one of the few female astronauts. Sandra was a tall girl with grey eyes and hair so blonde it was almost white. She had been selected with the most recent astronaut intake,the year before last. Her specialty was developing and implementing Shuttle mission flight plans.

Owen Patterson,51,was the deputy chief of the Shuttle program office at JSC. A tall,thin Manitoban with a gruff prairie accent and a long red beard, Patterson had worked at Moffett Field and later the Ames Research Center before transferring to JSC in 1977. He had been well-known as the Chief Engineer of the Orbiting Solar Observatory satellites and had also worked on the Helios missions. His current position was in essence a sinecure,until he could afford to retire from NASA and get the consulting job he really wanted.

Arthur Bennett,48,headed the JSC committee that assigned Shuttle crews. Although he had joined the astronaut corps with the first scientists' intake in 1965,skeletal problems had prevented him from ever flying in space. Taking pity on him,Deke Slayton had made the observant Marylander his deputy after Al Shepard was restored to flight status in 1968. After Slayton had left in 1976,Bennett had continued his legacy,selecting the right crews for the right missions,or so most at JSC felt.

The laconic Bob Fowler,41,was head of the Crew Procedures Division. That meant the 75 engineers under him worked at developing flight plans for the Shuttle crews and coordinating Shuttle operations with specialists at KSC,MSFC,JPL,NASA headquarters in Washington DC,and other centers. It was a rather difficult position,but Bob had been appointed because of his experience in mission design.

Acting Chief Flight Director Jake Lutz,40,was yet another old hand at JSC. Lutz had joined NASA during the Gemini days as a PROCEDURES controller,worked his way up after the Moon landing,and had been an Assistant Flight Director for Apollos 16 and 17 and a flight director for the later Skylab missions,including the Bicentennial Flight in 1976. 


End file.
